ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Railways
Measures taken by Indian Railways for Energy Conservation
Indian Railways  is committed to take new steps for energy conservation and to increase energy efficiency. Some of the measures taken are as follows:
- Railways has introduced Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor  based 3-phase propulsion system with regenerative braking in Electrical Multiple Unit  trains, Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit , Kolkata Metro rakes and Electric Train Sets to conserve energy during the operations.
- Production Units have completely switched over to production of energy efficient three-phase electric locos with regenerative features.
- Provision of energy efficient Light Emitting Diode  lighting in Railway installations including Railway stations, service buildings, Residential quarters, coaches, EMUs/MEMUs for reduction in electricity consumption.
- Use of energy efficient Brushless Direct Current  motor fans in coaches.
- Introduction of Head On Generation  system in trains to reduce diesel fuel consumption in power cars. 1012 electric locomotives are equipped with hotel load converters.
- Regular energy audits at consumption points.
- Emphasis on use of 5 Star rated electrical equipments.
- Regular training of Loco pilots for use of coasting, regenerative braking features and switching off blowers of electric locos in case yard detention is more than 15 minutes.
- Trailing locomotives of multi units  hauling light loads are switched off to save energy.
- Energy consumption on electric locomotives is regularly monitored through microprocessor based energy meters provided in all the electric locomotives and benchmarking is done based on average energy consumption.
- Monitoring the fuel consumption with respect to trip ration of diesel locomotive drivers.
- Auxiliary Power Unit  has been provided in 1167 diesel locomotives to reduce fuel consumption when locomotive is idle.
- Monitoring of idling of diesel locomotives is being done through remote monitoring and management of Locomotives and trains . 3760 locomotives at present are equipped with REMMLOT.
- Use of 5% bio-diesel in traction fuel-Blending of bio-diesel with High Speed Diesel  to the extent of 5 % to save HSD.
- 20% Compressed Natural Gas  substitution in DEMUs-CNG usage emits less Greenhouse Gases  than liquid fuels. Indian Railways have the distinction of being the only railway in the world to be using CNG run power cars for passenger transportation. IR has also started conversion of DEMU Driving Power Car  into dual fuel mode DEMU/DPC with CNG. 25 numbers of DPCs have been converted and are under operation.
Ministry of Railways has entered into Memorandum of Understanding  with Department for International Development  now Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office  for collaboration on energy and sustainability. Further, an MoU has also been signed with Confederation of Indian Industries  for energy efficiency improvement and conservation of energy.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Cabinet
Cabinet apprised of MoU between India and Russia for cooperation in the field of Science & Technology
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding  between India and Russia for cooperation in the field of Science & Technology  signed in October, 2016.
The objective of the MoU is to facilitate and support joint scientific and research activities between scientific organizations, subordinated to the Agency and scientific organizations and scientists of the Republic of Russian Federation, with India through DST.
Under this MoU, the Parties will cooperate in the following forms:
i) exchange of information about conducted conferences, forums, exhibitions, seminars that are of mutual interest;
ii) support and provision of conditions for the formation of scientific projects aimed at the conduct of joint research, themes of which are determined jointly by the Parties;
iii) conduct of joint scientific events  aimed at establishing of direct connections between scientists of the two countries in the fields determined by the Parties;
iv) support of establishment of direct connections between scientific organizations, scientists and specialists of the Parties;
v) provision of media coverage of the joint scientific activity aimed at the popularization of science;
vi) development of inter-disciplinary and multi-institutional projects with the involvement of industry.
The MoU came into effect on the date of its signature and will remain valid for 5 years. Implementation of the present MoU can be extended for further 5 year periods if neither of the Parties informs by written agreement of its intention to terminate it at least 6 months before the expiration of a given 5-year period.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
India launches the 41st Scientific Expedition to Antarctica
India has successfully launched the 41st Scientific Expedition to Antarctica with the arrival of the first batch of its contingent at the southern white continent. The first batch comprising of 23 scientists and support staff reached the Indian Antarctic station Maitri on last week.Four more batches shall be landing in Antarctica by air using DROMLAN facility and onboard chartered ice-class vessel MV VasiliyGolovnin by mid-January 2022.
The 41st expedition has two major programs. The first program encompasses geological exploration of the Amery ice shelf at Bharati station. This will help explore the link between India and Antarctica in the past. The second program involves reconnaissance surveys and preparatory work for drilling of 500 meters of ice core near Maitri. It will help in improving the understanding of Antarctic climate, westerly winds, sea-ice and greenhouse gases from a single climate archive for past 10,000 years. The ice core drilling will be done in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey and the Norwegian Polar Institute. In addition to accomplishing scientific programs, it will replenish the annual supplies of food, fuel, provisions, and spares for operations and maintenance of life support systems at Maitri and Bharati.
The Indian Antarctic program, which began in 1981, has completed 40 scientific expeditions, and built three permanent research base stations in Antarctica, named DakshinGangotri , Maitri  and Bharati . As of today, Maitri and Bharati are fully operational. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research , Goa—an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences—manages the entire Indian Antarctic program.
As India is committed to maintaining the continent of Antarctica free of COVID-19 and the highest standards of safety, the Indian contingent has reached Antarctica following a strict medical examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; training for snow-ice acclimatization and survival at the Mountaineering and Skiing Institute, ITBP Auli, Uttarakhand; and a stringent sanitary protocol including a 14 days quarantine at Cape Town, South Africa.
The crew is expected to return to Cape Town in late March/early April of 2022, leaving a team of 48 members for over winter. It will also bring back the over winter team of the preceding 40thexpedtion. The 41st expedition is being led by Dr. Shailendra Saini, Scientist National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research , Shri. HuidromNageshwar Singh, Metrologist, India Metrological Department  and Shri. AnoopKalayilSoman, scientist Indian Institute of Geomagnetism 
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Ministry of Jal Shakti
Awareness Building Activities Across India Nudge the Rural Community Towards Behaviour Change for Sampoorna Swachhata
As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti celebrated Iconic Week from 31.1.2022 to 6.02.2022. During this week, States organized extensive activities for both the flagship programmes of the Department viz. Swachh Bharat Mission   and Jal Jeevan Mission . For accelerating efforts by villages towards ODF Plus declaration, during the iconic week, as part of SBM-G, States/UTs’ were encouraged to organize a focused campaign for ODF Plus villages.
During the week, rural India witnessed well-coordinated efforts to increase awareness and nudge behaviour change for Sampoorna Swachhata. The activities included poem/song competitions on sanitation in schools, rallies for spreading the message of Swachhata, painting competitions on the issue of Swacchata were also organized in villages. Community activities like Nukkad nataks, pledge taking by Sarpanches in Gram Sabha to eliminate use of Single-Use Plastic , sanitation drives in schools, AWCs, community centres were also organized following COVID Appropriate protocols. The week also emerged as an occasion to felicitate the exemplary work of Swachhagrahis, field functionaries for the cause of Swachhata.
Additionally, the Iconic week saw initiatives taken under key components of ODF Plus i.e. Biodegradable Waste Management  including Gobardhan, Plastic Waste Management  including Menstrual Waste Management, Grey water Management , Faecal Waste Management , and ODF Sustainability with intensive IEC campaigns on Behaviour Change and mass awareness among community members for desirable actions.
The campaign ‘Janandolan for Sampoorna Swachhata’ received significant momentum and wide community participation during this week and it is hoped that these activities will lead to significant improvement in SLWM arrangements countrywide and give a big push to villages/ GPs towards the attainment of ODF Plus status and continue with the mission goal of ODF Plus India by 2024.
Swachh Bharat Mission  Phase II
Taking forward the remarkable people’s movement of achieving Open Defecation Free  India milestone in Phase 1 of Swachh Bharat Mission  on 2nd Oct, 2019, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation , Ministry of Jal Shakti embarked on an ambitious mission of achieving ODF Plus rural India under Phase 2 of the SBM  launched in early 2020. In this phase, the focus is on ODF sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management  aiming at comprehensive cleanliness or Sampoorna Swachhata in rural India.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Centre rushes teams to 6 States for COVID-19 control and containment measures
Teams sent to Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur, reporting high number of COVID-19 cases
The Union Government has been leading the fight against the global pandemic with a ‘Whole of Government’ and ‘Whole of Society’ approach. As an ongoing effort to strengthen efforts of various State/UT Governments for COVID management, the Central Government has been deputing Central teams from time to time to visit various States/UTs. These teams interact with the State/UT authorities and get a first-hand understanding of the challenges and issues being faced by them so as to strengthen their ongoing activities and remove bottlenecks, if any.
The Centre has today deputed multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur in view of the increased number of COVID-19 cases being reported by these States. The team to Manipur will be led by Dr. L Swasticharan, Add. DDG & Director EMR; team to Arunachal Pradesh will be led by Dr. Sanjay Sadhukhan, Professor AIIH&PH; for Tripura Dr. R.N. Sinha Dir Professor, AIIH&PH; for Kerala Dr. Ruchi Jain, Public Health Specialist Gr. II, RoHFW; for Odisha Dr. A Dan, Public Health Specialist AIIH&PH and for Chhattisgarh Dr. Dibakar Sahu, Assistant Professor, AIIMS Raipur. Teams will be supporting them in their efforts for targeted COVID response and management, and effectively tackling the pandemic.
The two-member high level team to these states consists of a clinician and a public health expert. The teams will visit the States immediately and monitor the overall implementation of COVID-19 management, especially in testing, including surveillance and containment operations; COVID Appropriate Behaviour and its enforcement; availability of hospital beds, sufficient logistics including ambulances, ventilators, medical oxygen etc., and COVID-19 Vaccination progress. The teams will monitor the situation and also suggest remedial actions.
The Central teams will assess the situation and suggest remedial actions on public health activities to the respective state governments. Copy of the report will also be provided to the Union Health Ministry.
Ministry of Mines
Geological Heritage Sites of Himalayan Region of India
Geological Survey of India  has identified two geological heritage sites in the Indian Himalayan Region of India.The details of the two sites identified by GSI in the Himalayan Region are as follows:
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State
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Name of the
site
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Location
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Brief description of the site
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Himachal Pradesh
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Siwalik Fossil Park,
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Saketi,
Sirmur
District
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The Siwalik Fossil park displays a rich collection of vertebrate fossils recovered from the Siwalik rocks of the area of Plio-Pleistocene age. The deposition of Siwalik sediments took place in the narrow linear depression, called the 'fore deep', which started developing in front of the Himalayas since the inception of its uplift in the middle Miocene
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Sikkim
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Stromatolite
bearing
Dolomite /
Limestone of Buxa
Formation
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Mamley, near
Namchi, South
District
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The Geoheritage site at Mamley exposes lithounits of Buxa Formation, Daling Group of Proterozoic age. The dolostones are profusely stromatolitic . This site provides one of the rare examples of early life in Sikkim Himalaya.
These two geological heritage sites of Indian Himalayan region are not on the verge of disappearance. These sites are preserved in the respective States.
Ministry of Mines has approached Ministry of Culture to explore the possibility of inclusion of Geological Heritage sites declared by GSI, under the purview of existing Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 , by making suitable amendment in the Act.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
President's Secretariat
President of India pays floral tributes to Shri V.V. Giri on his Birth Anniversary
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, paid floral tributes to Shri V.V. Giri, former President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan today . The President and officials of Rashtrapati Bhavan, paid floral tributes in front of the portrait of Shri V.V. Giri.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
PMUY is one of the Biggest Catalysts of Socio-Economic Change and Women Empowerment in Independent India, says Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today said that Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana  has been one of the biggest achievements towards women empowerment in independent India. Speaking at a workshop here today on PMUY, he said that in the last five years, we have more than doubled the number of LPG connections.
LPG coverage has increased from 55% to 97.4%.the scheme has acted as one of the biggest catalyst of socio-economic change in the status of women in the country.
Shri Pradhan said that household pollution has been a reason of health hazard, which has been curbed with the availability of safe and environment friendly LPG fuel to poor women of the society. However, the mission is yet not complete. “Behavioral change, further strengthening of supply chain, shift towards cleaner energy, are some of our key priorities. We are looking for innovative ways to increase refills, sustain adoption’, he added.
The Minister said that Climate change is a worry for the world. Energy is an important element of economic empowerment. “We are working on to ensure energy justice for all Indians. Energy affordability, sustainability, efficiency, security. LPG should be the catalyst of socio-economic change.”
A large number of PMUY beneficiaries participated in the workshop, and exchanged the experiences, as to how their lives have improved substantially after the adoption of gas chulhas in their homes. The workshop has been organized, in connection with the ongoing international women’s day 2020 celebrations.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Surplus rice available with FCI allowed to be converted to ethanol for utilization in making alcohol-based hand-sanitizers and for blending inPetrol
National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 under Para 5.3 inter-alia envisages that during an agriculture crop year when there is projected over supply of food grains as anticipated by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the policy will allow conversion of these surplus quantities of food grains to ethanol, based on the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee .
A meeting of NBCC was held today under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, wherein it was approved that the surplus rice available with Food Corporation of India  may be converted to ethanol for utilization in making alcohol-based hand-sanitizers and in blending for Ethanol Blended Petrol  programme.
Special Service and Features
Union Minister Dr. L Murugan is on a 3 day visit to Sri Lanka
Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Dr. L Murugan is visiting Sri Lanka from 9-12 February 2023 to participate in dedication of Jaffna Cultural Centre constructed with Government of India Grant, to the people of Sri Lanka. Hon'ble Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone for the Centre in March 2015.
During the visit, Hon. Minister of State would visit various sites that underline the scale and extent of Government of India's people-centric development partnership in Sri Lanka. He will also interact with a cross-section of leaders and stakeholders during the visit.
Jaffna Cultural Centre is a magnificent example of India-Sri Lanka development partnership. It was conceived as a reconciliation project primarily aimed at expanding cultural infrastructure for people of Northern Province. This state-of-the-art facility consists of multiple facilities such as a museum of two floors; an advanced theatre style auditorium for more than 600 people; a 11- storeyed learning tower; a public square which could also act as an amphitheatre; etc.
Ministry of Steel
Laying of Foundation Stone for Residential Complex at KIOCL Township by Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh
The Union Minister of Steel, Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh visited Mangaluru today to lay the foundation stone for Residential Complex at KIOCL Township. The township has a guest house, shopping complex, community hall, playground and fitness park. The employees residing in the township will be benefited once the construction of flats are completed.
The quarters in the township were more than 30 years old and has several maintenance issues. Keeping in view of this, the Management has planned to construct a residential building that will have 60 flats and to add new blocks in a phased manner.
During the occasion, officials from Ministry of Steel, Shri T Saminathan, CMD, Shri SK Gorai, Director , Shri KV Bhaskara Reddy, Director , senior officials of KIOCL, residents of township were present.
Ministry of Culture
NMA to submit a report on comprehensive development of Mahuli group of temples to Ministry of Culture
NMA to submit a report on comprehensive development of Mahuli group of temples to Ministry of Culture. The famous group of temples - known as Dakshin Kashi, comprise of five temples belonging to 11th and 12th CE in Hemadpanthi style of architecture and are located near Satara.
National Monument Authority chairman Shri Tarun Vijay paid a visit to see status of Samadhis of great Maratha queens Rani Tarabai Bhosle and Rani Yesho Bai Bhosle in Mahuli  . He was accompanied by senior ASI officers and historians.
He said Maharani Tarabai’s contribution to India’s freedom and her courageous rule to thwart Mughals is immense and her memory must be protected for inspiring coming generations.
He also said that this can be done with state govt and central govt’s joint move at a massive scale. He will try to draw attention of CM and Dy CM Maharashtra in this regard, Shri Tarun Vijay said.
Tarun Vijay was accompanied with ASI officer Gajanan Mandaware and renowned Maratha Historian Shri Mohan Shete.
He also visited Ramtek temple group , Ambala Gate, Sindoori bawli, Mansar Buddhist stupa . He said he will submit a comprehensive report to Union Minister of Culture Shri Kishan Reddy and recommend including Ramtek and Mahuli group of temples on banks of Krishna river in Centrally Protected Monuments list and helping samadhis of Maharani Tarabai and Yeshubai develop in a befitting manner .
Ministry of Culture
Neeraj Chopra’s javelin receives highest bid of Rs 1.5 Cr. in e-auction of prestigious gifts and mementos presented to Prime Minister
The third round of e-auction of prestigious gifts and mementos presented to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was held from 17th September to 7th October, 2021 through the web portal www.pmmementos.gov.in. The proceeds of the e-auction go to the Namami Gange Mission. Shri Narendra Modi is the first ever Prime Minister of India, to auction all the gifts he has received for the noble cause of conserving and rejuvenating the lifeline of the country - the Holy river Ganga.
1348 mementos were put up for e-auction in this third round, which has evoked a huge interest among the public, who enthusiastically placed bids to get an opportunity to own a valuable piece of history. The highlight items of this round of e-auctionincluded the sports memorabilia of the medal winning Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games; models of Ayodhya Ram Mandir; Varanasi’s Rudraksh auditorium and many other precious and interesting collectibles. More than 8600 bids were received for the items .
Items like decorative mace, replica of Statue of Unity, a Charkha and a bell received highest bids in terms of bid value as compared to the base price. Maximum number of bids were received by the sculpture of Sardar Patel , wooden Ganesha , memento of Pune metro line  and memento of Victory flame . The favourite picks in terms of the highest bid value were Neeraj Chopra’s javelin , autographed fence of Bhavani Devi , Sumit Antil’s javelin , Angavastra autographed by the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic contingent  and Lovlina Borgohain’s Boxing gloves .
The fact that the e-auction proceeds would be utilized for the Namami Gange project served to motivate the participants to bid and contribute to the noble cause close to the heart of every Indian. The e-auction amount is expected to be much higher than the last two rounds. The innovative exercise also gave a sense of participation in nation building to the citizens.
PIB Headquarters
NABARD awards IOB for excellence in performance under SHG Bank Linkage Programme
Indian Overseas Bank has been continuously exhibiting an outstanding performance under SHG- Bank Linkage in the state of Tamil Nadu with special focus on rural women to make them Bankable through SHG Linkage. As a mark of recognition, NABARD has awarded Indian Overseas Bank, the Second prize among the Public Sector Commercial Banks for excellence in performance under SHG Bank Linkage Programme in Tamil Nadu during the year 2018-19.
Shri Ajay Kumar Srivastava, Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank received the award and citation from Thiru. D.Jayakumar, Minister of Fisheries, Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Tamil Nadu on the eve of NABARD’s 38th Foundation Day Celebration held at Chennai on 13.07.2019.
Caption : The Minster of Fishers, Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Tamil Nadu, Thiru. D.Jayakumar, presenting the award and citation to Shri. Ajay Kumar Srivastava, Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank. Smt.Padma Ragunathan, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Chennai and Smt. Uma Maheswari. B, General Manager, IOB are also seen.